Providing location-based information in local wireless zones

ABSTRACT

The present invention allows mobile terminals to receive location-based information upon entering a local wireless zone established by an access point. The access point includes or is associated with one or more servers, which may provide the location-based information and control access. The local wireless zone is a limited area in which communications between the access point and the mobile terminal are possible. Once the mobile terminal enters into one or more local wireless zones, the presence of the mobile terminal in the local wireless zone is detected. Once detected, the mobile terminal is afforded access to a server on which the location-based information is stored. The server is associated with the local wireless zone.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communications, and in particular toproviding location-based information to mobile terminals within localwireless zones in which communications with the mobile terminal arepossible.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Given the significant amount of information available over packet-basednetworks and the ease with which such information can be deliveredwirelessly to mobile users, significant efforts have been made toprovide information to mobile users based on their relative locations.Location-based information services may provide information such asadvertising for local businesses, providing directions, or providingother information based at least in part on the location of the user.

Despite the apparent usefulness of such location-based services, theseservices have yet to gain popularity. One hindrance to the acceptance oflocation-based services has been the relative inaccuracy ofcellular-based tracking techniques used to determine the location of theuser. Cellular systems may use triangulation techniques among proximatebased stations, or may simply identify the location of the user based onthe base station currently serving the user. The triangulation and basestation identification techniques for determining user location areunable to provide a relatively high degree of resolution for locationdetermination. In mot instances, the location of the user can only bedetermined at best within 50 meters or more, depending on the layout ofthe cellular network. With such poor resolution in determining a user'slocation, the association of services with a particular location is verylimited.

Other location-determining systems incorporate Global Positioning System(GPS) equipment in the mobile terminal. Unfortunately, the addition ofmore accurate positioning equipment to mobile devices is expensive andoften requires extensive upgrades to the cellular network to takeadvantage of the more accurate positioning information. Accordingly,there is a need for an efficient and effective way to providelocation-based information to mobile users. There is a further need toprovide a way to determine the location of the mobile user with greateraccuracy, such that the location-based information provided to themobile user is more specific to the actual location of the mobile user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention allows mobile terminals to exchange location-basedinformation upon entering a local wireless zone established by an accesspoint. The access point includes or is associated with one or moreservers, which may provide the location-based information and controlaccess. The local wireless zone is a limited area in whichcommunications between the access point and the mobile terminal arepossible. Once the mobile terminal enters into one or more localwireless zones, the presence of the mobile terminal in the localwireless zone is detected. Once detected, the mobile terminal isafforded access to a server on which the location-based information isstored. The server is associated with the local wireless zone. In oneembodiment, an IP address is provided to the mobile terminal, which canuse the IP address to access the location-based information. If themobile terminal is within multiple local wireless zones at any giventime, location-based information for a particular local wireless zonemay be selected. The mobile terminal will then establish communicationswith the access point for the selected local wireless zone, and requestthe location-based information from the associated server.

By using local wireless communications and associating servers andlocation-based information with each local wireless zone, thelocation-based information can be better configured for the areaencompassed by the local wireless zone. In one embodiment, a hostconfiguration protocol, such as the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol,is used to provide configuration information to the mobile terminal toallow the mobile terminal to communicate with various entitiesassociated with the access point. The configuration information may beprovided in light of a zone identifier, which is associated with atleast one of the local wireless zones. The configuration information maybe used to gain access to the server providing the location-basedinformation. Alternatively, the configuration information may directlyprovide an IP address for accessing the location-based information. Thelocation-based information may be various types of information tofacilitate any number of services, such as web services; communications,including voice call, video call, instant messaging, email, voicemail,and fax; file transfer; streaming media; real-time media applications;electronic commerce transactions; user authentication; and geo-locationservices.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the presentinvention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments inassociation with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part ofthis specification illustrate several aspects of the invention, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a block representation of a communication environment havingthree independent and non-overlapping local wireless zones according toa first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block representation of a communication environment havingthree independent and overlapping local wireless zones according to asecond embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a communication flow illustrating operation of the presentinvention according to the communication environment of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a block representation of a communication environment havingthree independent and non-overlapping local wireless zones according toa third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block representation of a communication environment havingthree independent and non-overlapping local wireless zones according toa fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block representation of a communication environment havingthree independent and non-overlapping local wireless zones according toa fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block representation of a communication environment havingthree independent and non-overlapping local wireless zones according toa sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block representation of an access point according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block representation of a content server according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block representation of a mobile terminal according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustratethe best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the followingdescription in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilledin the art will understand the concepts of the invention and willrecognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressedherein. It should be understood that these concepts and applicationsfall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

The present invention allows a mobile terminal capable of communicatingover a local wireless interface to readily access content based on therelative location of the mobile terminal. The content is generallyreferred to as location-based information, because the location of themobile terminal plays a role in determining what content is madeavailable to the mobile terminal. The location-based information may bethe only content provided to any mobile terminal at a certain location,or various types of content may be provided in light of specificlocation information. In essence, when a mobile terminal comes withincommunication range of a local wireless interface, location-basedinformation may be provided to the mobile terminal. Additional factorsor information provided by the mobile terminal may assist in determiningnew location-based information to provide to the mobile terminal. Thus,the present invention creates a close association between a localwireless zone in which communications with the mobile terminal arepossible and a content server, so that a mobile terminal entering thelocal wireless zone can readily access the content server and receivethe location-based information. Prior to delving into the details of thepresent invention, an overview of exemplary communication environmentsis provided.

With reference to FIG. 1, a communication environment 10 is illustratedas having three independent local wireless systems 12A, 12B, and 12Ccapable of facilitating local wireless communications. Local wirelesscommunications are defined as limited-range wireless communications,such as those used in wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, andother limited-range communication technologies. For the purposes ofillustration, the embodiments specifically described herein mayincorporate WLAN communication techniques as defined in the IEEE 802.11and 802.15 standards. Those skilled in the art will recognize otherapplicable local wireless communication technologies that providewireless communications in ranges substantially smaller than thoseprovided by traditional cellular technologies.

Each of the local wireless systems 12A, 12B, and 12C includes an accesspoint 14A, 14B, 14C, which may facilitate wireless communications with amobile terminal 16 when the mobile terminal 16 is within a correspondingone of local wireless zones 18A, 18B, 18C. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 1, the local wireless zones 18A, 18B, 18C do not overlap, andthe mobile terminal 16 will only be able to communicate with one of theaccess points 14A, 14B, 14C at any given time, and only when it is inwith a local wireless zone 18A, 18B, 18C.

Each of the local wireless systems 12 is independent and configured toallow location-based information to be delivered to the mobile terminal16 when the mobile terminal 16 is within one of the respective localwireless zones 18. Given the limited range for local wirelesscommunications afforded by each of the access points 14, the location ofthe mobile terminal 16 is known to a high degree of specificity whencommunications with an access point 14 are possible. Thus, thelocation-based information provided to the mobile terminal 16 within agiven local wireless zone 18 can be very specific, given the knownlocation of the mobile terminal 16.

To facilitate the delivery of the location-based information to themobile terminal 16, the local wireless system 12 is able to recognizethat the mobile terminal 16 is within a local wireless zone 18 affordedby an access point 14, provide access to the mobile terminal 16, andthen deliver the location-based information to the mobile terminal 16.As illustrated, local wireless systems 12A and 12B include a stand alonecontent server 20 for providing the location-based information, whereinthe content server 20 is coupled to the access points 14A and 14Bthrough a dedicated Ethernet switch 22 or other local network (notshown). Access to the local wireless systems 12A and 12B by the mobileterminal 16 is governed by access servers 24. The access servers 24 maytake the form of Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA)servers, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers, or DomainName Service (DNS) servers. Those skilled in the art will recognizeother types of servers and corresponding protocols through whichauthorization, accounting, address provisioning, and address translationcan be provided. Notably, all of these functions are not required topractice the present invention, but are beneficial in select embodimentsas will be described in further detail below. Further, the variousaccess servers 24 and the content server 20 may take various forms andmay be implemented as functions in a variety of devices.

As illustrated with respect to the local wireless system 12C, thefunctionality of the access servers 24 and the content servers 20 may beintegrated within the access point 14C, wherein only a single accesspoint 14C is required to provide the local wireless zone 18, controlaccess by the mobile terminal 16, and provide location-based informationto the mobile terminal 16. Determinations as to whether the mobileterminal 16 is within the local wireless zones 18, and thus capable ofcommunicating with the respective access points 14, are generallyprovided within the respective local wireless communication protocolused to facilitate the local wireless communications.

For the communication environment 10 of FIG. 1, the independent localwireless zones 18 generally indicates that only one local wirelesssystem 12 can service the mobile terminal 16 any given time. As such,the location-based information may be configured accordingly, andselection of the location-based information may be automatic once themobile terminal 16 enters the local wireless zone 18 or based oninformation received from the mobile terminal 16.

With reference to FIG. 2, the local wireless systems 12 are stillindependent of one other, yet the local wireless zones 18 afforded byeach of the local wireless systems 12 overlap one another. Asillustrated, the mobile terminal 16 is within local wireless zones 18A,18B, and 18C, and thus can communicate with each of the access points14A, 14B, 14C at the same time. When local wireless zones 18 fromdifferent local wireless systems 12 overlap, each local wireless zone 18or access point 14 may be associated with a respective zone ID: ZONE IDA, ZONE ID B, and ZONE ID C, for local wireless systems 12A, 12B, and12C, respectively. Accordingly, each access point 14 or an associatedcomponent in the respective local wireless system 12 can provide thezone ID to the mobile terminal 16, such that the mobile terminal 16 orthe user thereof can select the local wireless system 12 from which thelocation-based information is received. The zone ID may be used by themobile terminal 16 to help identify or otherwise control thelocation-based information provided from the corresponding localwireless system 12. As will be described further below, the localwireless zones 18 may have unique zone identifiers (IDs), or may sharethe same zone ID, depending on the configuration of the communicationenvironment 10 as well as the local wireless systems 12.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a communication flow diagram is provided toillustrate operation of one embodiment of the present invention, inlight of the communication environment 10 of FIG. 2. Assume that themobile terminal 16 is positioned such that it is within the localwireless zones 18A and 18B of local wireless systems 12A and 12B,respectively, but not within the local wireless zone 18C. Notably, theaccess server 24 may actually be multiple servers or a single deviceproviding multiple server functions. In this example, the accessserver(s) 24 takes the form of a DHCP server 24′, a DNS server 24″, anda AAA server 24′″.

The authorization and establishment of communications between the mobileterminal 16 and access point 14A may be configured such that any usermay establish communications wherein the user is effectively anonymous,or the authorization messaging may require a specific user to initiatecommunications. In the latter case, the authorization request ormessaging would include a user ID or other credentials, such as apassword, to assist in authenticating the user or mobile terminal 16 forcommunications. Given the type of available location-based informationand the nature of the local wireless system 12, the decision to allowanonymous users to establish communications may be decided on acase-by-case basis. When a specific authorization process is required,the AAA server 24′″ or equivalent function may be accessed by the accesspoint 14A to provide authorization data received from the mobileterminal 16 to obtain authorization for establishing communicationsbetween the mobile terminal 16 and the access point 14A.

On an ongoing basis, the access points 14A and 14B will send out signalsto assist the mobile terminal 16 in determining that it is within therespective local wireless zones 18A and 18B. For wireless LANembodiments, these signals are referred to as “beacons” and may includethe respective zone IDs: ZONE ID A and ZONE ID B. Thus, access point 14Awill send a beacon identifying ZONE ID A to the mobile terminal 16 (step100), and access point 14B will send a beacon identifying ZONE ID B tothe mobile terminal 16 (step 102). When present in the local wirelesszones 18(A) and 18B, the mobile terminal 16 will receive the beaconsfrom access points 14A and 14B, and will recognize that communicationswith access points 14A and 14B are possible. The mobile terminal 16 mayprovide this information to the user through an appropriate userinterface. Either based on a response from the user or automatically,the mobile terminal 16 will select one of the access points 14A or 14Bwith which to communicate. Such selection may directly or indirectlyinvolve selecting one of the zone IDs. In this example, assume that themobile terminal selects ZONE ID A, which is associated with access point14A (step 104). Accordingly, the mobile terminal 16 will send anauthorization request to access point 14A to authorize local wirelesscommunications (step 106). The mobile terminal 16 and access point 14Awill exchange the requisite authorization messaging to obtain therequisite information necessary to authorize a communication sessiontherebetween (step 108). The access point 14(A) may cooperate with theAAA server 24′″ to determine whether to authorize communications withthe mobile terminal (step 110). Assuming that the user is authorized,access point 14A will send a message to the mobile terminal 16indicating that the authorization for the communication session isgranted (step 112).

For wireless LAN applications, an association is generally establishedbetween the mobile terminal 16 and the serving access point 14A. Thus,the mobile terminal 16 may send an association request to the accesspoint 14A (step 114), which will respond with an association grantedmessage when the association is granted (step 116). Next, the mobileterminal 16 may send a DHCP request to the DHCP server 24′ or equivalentfunction (step 118) to obtain the DHCP configuration data, such as anInternet Protocol (IP) address for the mobile terminal 16 to use forcommunications within local wireless system 12A, and optionally anaddress for the content server 20 from which the location-basedinformation may be requested. The DHCP server 24′ will send a DHCPresponse with the configuration data and perhaps the address for thecontent server 20 back to the mobile terminal 16 (step 120). Thoseskilled in the art will recognize other host configuration protocols touse when initializing the mobile terminal 16 for communications with thelocal wireless system 12.

Depending on how the configuration data is provided to the mobileterminal 16, a DNS service may be used to find the IP address of thedesired or default content server 20. For example, if the configurationdata provided by the DHCP server 24′ took the form of a domain name, themobile terminal 16 may send a DNS query to a DNS server 24″ (step 122),which will send a DNS response with the IP address of the content server20 back to the mobile terminal (step 124). The DNS entry of the DNSquery may take numerous forms, and may represent or include varioustypes of information, such as the zone ID provided in the form of adomain name. For example, the zone ID for a “restaurant” could beconfigured as www.restaurant.com. The DNS entry could also be a modifiedzone ID, such as wlan.www.restaurant.com. Further, the DNS entry may bederived from virtually any type of information provided in theconfiguration data received from the DHCP server 24′.

Regardless of whether the IP address for the content server 20 isprovided with the configuration data, obtained from the DNS service, orreceived from any other device, including the access point 14A, themobile terminal 16 can use the IP address to request the location-basedinformation from the content server 20 (step 126). For example, therequest may take the form of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Getmessage. Further, virtually any type of information may be provided withthe HTTP Get message, including a Uniform (or Universal) ResourceLocator (URL) associated with the application, the zone ID, an accesspoint identifier, and a user identifier. Various location-specific oruser-specific data can be exchanged with the content server 20 asnecessary to obtain or provide the desired location-based information.Based on the request, the content server 20 will respond with thelocation-based information, preferably in the form of an HTTP 200 OKmessage (step 128). At this point, the content server 20 is acting as atraditional web server, and the mobile terminal 16 is acting as atraditional client running a browser. Thus, the content may be providedto the mobile terminal 16 with links to additional content madeavailable by the content server 20 or other accessible server. Thelocation-based information may be provided in association with anynumber or type of services, which are a function of the location of themobile terminal.

As seen from the above, the mobile terminal 16 can determine that it iswithin a local wireless zone 18 of an access point 14, and take thenecessary steps to establish the ability to communicate with the accesspoint 14, interact with any necessary access servers 24 to obtainauthorization for further communications, and perhaps informationpertaining to the content server 20, and then use the informationpertaining to the content server 20 to access location-basedinformation. The location-based information may be further specifiedusing a zone ID, an access point ID, a user ID, other informationprovided by the mobile terminal 16, or a combination thereof.

With reference to FIG. 4, a communication environment 10 according to athird embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In thisembodiment, multiple (three) access points 14 are supported by a commoncontent server 20, access server 24, and Ethernet switch 22. Byproviding multiple access points 14 in a local wireless system 12, alarger area may be covered by the respective local wireless zones 18provided by the access points 14. In this embodiment, each access point14 or local wireless zone 18 is associated with the same zone ID (ZONEID A). Further refinement of the location-based information may be basedon an access point ID, which is uniquely associated with each of therespective access points 14. Thus, if the access point ID is notprovided to the content server 20, more generalized location-basedinformation will be provided to the mobile terminal 16. If the accesspoint identifier or other identifier associated with the particularlocal wireless zone 18 is provided to the content server 20, morespecific location-based information may be provided to the mobileterminal 16.

With reference to FIG. 5, a fourth embodiment of the present inventionis illustrated. In this embodiment, each local wireless zone 18 isassociated with a unique zone ID, which may be used by the mobileterminal 16 to select the location-based information from the contentserver 20. In this embodiment, a common content server 20 and accessserver 24 support each of the three unique local wireless zones 18.Alternatively, each access point 14 may have a unique identifier, whichis used to select the location-based information from the content server20.

With reference to FIG. 6, a fifth embodiment of the present invention isillustrated, wherein multiple content servers 20A, 20B, 20C areprovided. In this embodiment, each local wireless zone 18 has a uniquezone ID. In this environment, the mobile terminal 16 may request contentfrom different ones of the content servers 20 and do so using the uniquezone identifier or a unique access point identifier. Accordingly, thelocation-based information from multiple content servers 20 maycorrespond to different types of applications or services made availableto the mobile terminal 16. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe multiple applications or services may be afforded by a singlecontent server 20, and thus not require multiple content servers 20 asillustrated.

With reference to FIG. 7, a sixth embodiment of the present invention isillustrated wherein multiple local wireless zones 18 are supported by acontent server 20 and access servers 24 over a data network 26 via arouter or firewall 28, which provides for secure communications betweenthe mobile terminal 16 and the content server 20. In one embodiment, atunnel 30 is established between the router or firewall 28 and thecontent server 20 using layer 2 tunneling protocol (L2TP) or IPSec. Asillustrated, the zone IDs are identical for each of the local wirelesszones 18; however, those skilled in the art will recognize that uniquezone IDs may be used as discussed above.

Based on the previous description, location-based information may beprovided to a mobile terminal 16 in an efficient and effective mannerusing local wireless communication technology. The use of local wirelesscommunications affords a more limited communication range, and thus,more accurate determination of a user's location. Further, the localwireless zones 18 afforded by the access points 14 may be controlled bycontrolling the transmit power for the respective access points 14. Byadjusting the transmit power, the size of the local wireless zone 18 canbe adjusted to accommodate the location requirements for providing thelocation-based information.

The location-based information may take many forms, including varioustypes of communication services and web services. The location-basedinformation may provide for basic content delivery associated withmarketing, advertising, or other information services. The content maybe sent using web-based protocols, file transfer protocols, streamingmedia, and real-time media.

In essence, the local wireless zones 18 would be established inassociation with public places, such that mobile terminals 16 movingwithin the local wireless zone 18 will have access to location-basedinformation for corresponding applications or services. For example, thepublic place may be a restaurant, airport check-in station, or a museumexhibit. As such, the restaurant may provide coupons, advertisements,menu information, or may communicate with the mobile terminal 16 to makereservations or place orders. The user may cooperate with the mobileterminal 16 to facilitate check-in at the airport. Further, the mobileterminal 16 may communicate with various access points 14 throughout amuseum to receive information from different exhibits corresponding tothe various local wireless zones 18 afforded by the multiple accesspoints 14 spread throughout the museum. As such, the location-basedinformation may simply be streaming media describing artwork in eachexhibit, wherein the mobile terminal 16 will travel from one exhibit toanother and access different content based on its location. Further, theabove description focuses on the mobile terminal 16 requesting thelocation-based information from the content server 20. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that the concepts of the present invention areequally applicable to situations wherein the content server 20 will pushinformation to the mobile terminal 16 upon learning of its presencewithin the local wireless zone 18.

Turning now to FIG. 8, a block representation of an access point 14 isillustrated. The access point 14 is centered about a control system 32having memory 34 with sufficient software 36 to effect operation asdescribed above. The control system 32 will be associated with one ormore local wireless interfaces 38 to facilitate local wirelesscommunications with the mobile terminal 16, as well as a networkinterface 40 to facilitate communications with the various contentservers 20 and access servers 24.

A block representation of a content server 20 is illustrated in FIG. 9.The content server 20 is centered about a control system 42 havingmemory 44 with sufficient software 46 to facilitate operation asdescribed above. The control system 42 will be associated with a networkinterface 48 to facilitate communications with the access point 14 inorder to receive requests from the mobile terminal 16 as well as sendthe location-based information to the mobile terminal 16.

The basic architecture of the mobile terminal 16 is represented in FIG.10. The mobile terminal 16 may take the form of any device capable oflocal wireless communications, such as a personal digital assistant,personal computer, or mobile telephone. In the illustrated embodiment,the mobile terminal 16 is configured to facilitate both local wirelessand traditional cellular communications. The mobile terminal 16 mayinclude a receiver front end 50, a radio frequency transmitter section52, an antenna 54, a duplexer or switch 56, a baseband processor 58, acontrol system 60, a frequency synthesizer 62, and an interface 64. Thereceiver front end 50 receives information bearing radio frequencysignals from one or more remote transmitters provided by a base station.A low noise amplifier 66 amplifies the signal. A filter circuit 68minimizes broadband interference in the received signal, whiledownconversion and digitization circuitry 70 downconverts the filtered,received signal to an intermediate or baseband frequency signal, whichis then digitized into one or more digital streams. The receiver frontend 50 typically uses one or more mixing frequencies generated by thefrequency synthesizer 62. The baseband processor 58 processes thedigitized received signal to extract the information or data bitsconveyed in the received signal. This processing typically comprisesdemodulation, decoding, and error correction operations. As such, thebaseband processor 58 is generally implemented in one or more digitalsignal processors (DSPs).

On the transmit side, the baseband processor 58 receives digitized data,which may represent voice, data, or control information, from thecontrol system 60, which it encodes for transmission. The encoded datais output to the transmitter 52, where it is used by a modulator 72 tomodulate a carrier signal that is at a desired transmit frequency. Poweramplifier circuitry 74 amplifies the modulated carrier signal to a levelappropriate for transmission, and delivers the amplified and modulatedcarrier signal to the antenna 54 through the duplexer or switch 56.

As noted above, the mobile terminal 16 may be able to communicate withthe access points 14 as well as with a cellular access network.Accordingly, the receiver front end 50, baseband processor 58, and radiofrequency transmitter section 52 cooperate to provide either a cellularinterface for the cellular access network and a connection to the localwireless interface 38 for the access point 14. These functions may beimplemented using redundant circuitry, or by configuring commoncircuitry to operate in different modes. The configuration of the mobileterminal 16 will be dictated by economics and designer choice.

A user may interact with the mobile terminal 16 via the interface 64,which may include interface circuitry 76 associated with a microphone78, a speaker 80, a keypad 82, and a display 84. The interface circuitry76 typically includes analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analogconverters, amplifiers, and the like. Additionally, it may include avoice encoder/decoder, in which case it may communicate directly withthe baseband processor 58. The microphone 78 will typically convertaudio input, such as the user's voice, into an electrical signal, whichis then digitized and passed directly or indirectly to the basebandprocessor 58. Audio information encoded in the received signal isrecovered by the baseband processor 58, and converted by the interfacecircuitry 76 into an analog signal suitable for driving the speaker 80.The keypad 82 and display 84 enable the user to interact with the mobileterminal 16, input numbers to be dialed, address book information,select local wireless zones, or the like.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modificationsto the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All suchimprovements and modifications are considered within the scope of theconcepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.

1. A method for providing location-based information to mobile terminalsin local wireless zones, the method comprising: a) recognizing a mobileterminal within a local wireless zone in which local wirelesscommunications with the mobile terminal via an access point arepossible; and b) providing location-based information to the mobileterminal via the access point from a server associated with the localwireless zone.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving arequest for the location-based information from the mobile terminal. 3.The method of claim 2 further comprising sending a zone identifier tothe mobile terminal.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprisingreceiving the zone identifier from the mobile terminal, wherein the zoneidentifier is used at least in part to identify the location-basedinformation to provide to the mobile terminal from the server.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: a) receiving a host configurationprotocol request for configuration information bearing on communicationsbetween the mobile terminal and the server; and b) providing theconfiguration information to the mobile terminal to facilitatecommunication between the mobile terminal and the server.
 6. The methodof claim 5 wherein the host configuration protocol request comprises azone identifier.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the configurationinformation provided to the mobile terminal comprises an IP address forthe server from which the location-based information is requested. 8.The method of claim 5 further comprising: a) receiving a domain nameservice request; and b) providing an IP address for the server fromwhich the location-based information is requested.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 wherein the domain name service request comprises the zoneidentifier, and wherein the IP address is associated with the zoneidentifier.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein the domain name servicerequest comprises certain of the configuration data, and wherein the IPaddress is associated with the configuration data.
 11. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: a) receiving user information from themobile terminal; and b) identifying the location-based information basedat least in part on the local wireless zone and the user information.12. The method of claim 1 wherein the location-based information isprovided according to a service for users within the local wirelesszone.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the service consists of one ofthe group consisting of web services, voice communications, video callcommunications, instant messaging, email, voicemail, commercetransactions, facsimile, authentication, geo-location, file transfer,streaming media, and real-time media.
 14. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising receiving a user selection bearing on one of a plurality ofservices associated with the local wireless zone, and wherein thelocation-based information is selected to correspond to the one of theplurality of services in the user selection.
 15. The method of claim 1wherein the local wireless communications are wireless local areanetwork communications.
 16. The method of claim 1 wherein the localwireless communications are Bluetooth communications.
 17. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the server is integrated with the access point.
 18. Amethod for providing location-based information to mobile terminals inlocal wireless zones, the method comprising: a) detecting a presencewithin a first local wireless zone in which local wirelesscommunications with a first access point are possible; and b) receivingfirst location-based information via the first access point from a firstserver associated with the first local wireless zone.
 19. The method ofclaim 18 further comprising: a) detecting a presence within a pluralityof local wireless zones in which local wireless communications with aplurality of access points are possible; b) selecting one of theplurality of local wireless zones; c) receiving second location-basedinformation via the one of the plurality of local wireless zones. 20.The method of claim 19 further comprising: a) presenting the pluralityof local wireless zones to a user of the mobile terminal; and b)receiving a response from the user corresponding to the one of theplurality of local wireless zones.
 21. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising sending a request for the first location-based informationvia the access point.
 22. The method of claim 21 further comprisingreceiving a zone identifier.
 23. The method of claim 22 furthercomprising sending the zone identifier to identify the firstlocation-based information.
 24. The method of claim 18 furthercomprising: a) sending to a host server via the access point a hostconfiguration protocol request for configuration information bearing oncommunications between the mobile terminal and the first server; and b)receiving the configuration information to facilitate communicationbetween the mobile terminal and the first server.
 25. The method ofclaim 24 wherein the host configuration protocol request comprises azone identifier.
 26. The method of claim 24 wherein the configurationinformation comprises an IP address for the first server from which thefirst location-based information is requested.
 27. The method of claim24 further comprising: a) sending a domain name service request to adomain name server; and b) receiving an IP address for the first serverfrom which the first location-based information is requested.
 28. Themethod of claim 27 wherein the domain name service request comprises thezone identifier, and wherein the IP address is associated with the zoneidentifier.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein the domain name servicerequest comprises certain of the configuration data, and wherein the IPaddress is associated with the configuration data.
 30. The method ofclaim 18 further comprising sending user information to the firstserver, which identifies the first location-based information based atleast in part on the local wireless zone and the user information. 31.The method of claim 18 wherein the first location-based information isreceived according to a service for users within the local wirelesszone.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the service consists of one ofthe group consisting of web services, voice communications, video callcommunications, instant messaging, email, voicemail, commercetransactions, facsimile, authentication, geo-location, file transfer,streaming media, and real-time media.
 33. The method of claim 18 furthercomprising sending a user selection bearing on one of a plurality ofservices associated with the local wireless zone, and wherein thelocation-based information is selected to correspond to the one of theplurality of services in the user selection.
 34. The method of claim 18wherein the local wireless communications are wireless local areanetwork communications.
 35. The method of claim 18 wherein the localwireless communications are Bluetooth communications.
 36. The method ofclaim 18 wherein the first server is integrated with the first accesspoint.
 37. The method of claim 18 further comprising facilitatingcellular communications via a cellular communication network.
 38. Alocal wireless system for providing location-based information to mobileterminals in local wireless zones, the method comprising: a) means forrecognizing a mobile terminal within a local wireless zone in whichlocal wireless communications with the mobile terminal via an accesspoint are possible; and b) means for providing location-basedinformation to the mobile terminal via the access point from a serverassociated with the local wireless zone.
 39. The system of claim 38further comprising means for receiving a request for the location-basedinformation from the mobile terminal.
 40. The system of claim 39 furthercomprising means for sending a zone identifier to the mobile terminal.41. The system of claim 40 further comprising means for receiving thezone identifier from the mobile terminal wherein the zone identifier isused at least in part to identify the location-based information toprovide to the mobile terminal from the server.
 42. The system of claim38 further comprising: a) means for receiving a host configurationprotocol request for configuration information bearing on communicationsbetween the mobile terminal and the server; and b) means for providingthe configuration information to the mobile terminal to facilitatecommunication between the mobile terminal and the server.
 43. The systemof claim 42 wherein the host configuration protocol request comprises azone identifier.
 44. The system of claim 42 wherein the configurationinformation provided to the mobile terminal comprises an IP address forthe server from which the location-based information is requested. 45.The system of claim 42 further comprising: a) means for receiving adomain name service request; and b) means for providing an IP addressfor the server from which the location-based information is requested.46. The system of claim 45 wherein the domain name service requestcomprises the zone identifier, and wherein the IP address is associatedwith the zone identifier.
 47. The system of claim 45 wherein the domainname service request comprises certain of the configuration data, andwherein the IP address is associated with the configuration data. 48.The system of claim 38 further comprising: a) means for receiving userinformation from the mobile terminal; and b) means for identifying thelocation-based information in light of the local wireless zone and theuser information.
 49. The system of claim 38 wherein the location-basedinformation is provided according to a service for users within thelocal wireless zone.
 50. A mobile terminal for receiving location-basedinformation in local wireless zones, the mobile terminal comprising: a)a communication interface adapted to facilitate local wirelesscommunications with access points when present within the local wirelesszones; b) a control system associated with the communication interfaceand adapted to: i) detect a presence within a first local wireless zonein which local wireless communications with a first access point arepossible; and ii) receive first location-based information via the firstaccess point from a first server associated with the first localwireless zone.
 51. The mobile terminal of claim 50 wherein the controlsystem is further adapted to: a) detect a presence within a plurality oflocal wireless zones in which local wireless communications with aplurality of access points are possible; b) select one of the pluralityof local wireless zones; c) receive second location-based informationvia the one of the plurality of local wireless zones.
 52. The mobileterminal of claim 51 wherein the control system is further adapted to:a) present the plurality of local wireless zones to a user of the mobileterminal; and b) receive a response from the user corresponding to theone of the plurality of local wireless zones.
 53. The mobile terminal ofclaim 50 wherein the control system is further adapted to send a requestfor the first location based information via the first access point. 54.The mobile terminal of claim 53 wherein the control system is furtheradapted to receive a zone identifier.
 55. The mobile terminal of claim54 wherein the control system is further adapted to send the zoneidentifier to identify the first location-based information.
 56. Themobile terminal of claim 55 wherein the control system is furtheradapted to: a) send to a host server via the access point a hostconfiguration protocol request for configuration information bearing oncommunications between the mobile terminal and the first server; and b)receive the configuration information to facilitate communicationbetween the mobile terminal and the first server.
 57. The mobileterminal of claim 56 wherein the host configuration protocol requestcomprises a zone identifier.
 58. The mobile terminal of claim 56 whereinthe configuration information comprises an IP address for the firstserver from which the first location-based information is requested. 59.The mobile terminal of claim 56 wherein the control system is furtheradapted to: a) send a domain name service request to a domain nameserver; and b) receive an IP address for the first server from which thefirst location-based information is requested.
 60. The mobile terminalof claim 59 wherein the domain name service request comprises the zoneidentifier, and wherein the IP address is associated with the zoneidentifier.
 61. The mobile terminal of claim 59 wherein the domain nameservice request comprises certain of the configuration data, and whereinthe IP address is associated with the configuration data.
 62. The mobileterminal of claim 50 wherein the control system is further adapted tosend user information to the first server, which identifies thelocation-based information in light of the local wireless zone and theuser information.
 63. The mobile terminal of claim 50 wherein thelocation-based information is received according to a service for userswithin the local wireless zone.
 64. The mobile terminal of claim 63wherein the service consists of one of the group consisting of webservices, voice communications, video call communications, instantmessaging, email, voicemail, commerce transactions, facsimile,authentication, geo-location, file transfer, streaming media, andreal-time media.
 65. The mobile terminal of claim 50 wherein the controlsystem and the communication interface are further adapted to facilitatecellular communications via a cellular communication network.